137 



representing capital investment thought to be beyond the resources of 

 most countries. The United Kingdom and France have small enrich- 

 ment plants which were built to make highly enriched uranium-235 

 for weapons, but these are not large enough to supply fuel for 

 commercial nuclear power. Enrichment plants now in operation use a 

 process known as ''gaseous diffusion" and sometimes are referred to as 

 gaseous diffusion plants. Recently there has been revived European 

 interest in the gas centrifuge, and work is in progress to demonstrate 

 the feasibility of this process as an alternative to gaseous diffusion for 

 the manufacture of enriched uranium. 



Fuel reprocessing plants are unusual industrial facilities. They must 

 be designed, built, and operated to process intensely radioactive mate- 

 rials. Because the required equipment, processes, and personnel are not 

 readily available from other industries, the construction and operation 

 of a fuel reprocessing plant is costly and does not offer possibilities of 

 conversion to other uses if the markets for fuel reprocessing should not 

 meet expectations. On the other hand, the scale of financial and indus- 

 trial effort should be within the capability of most industrial countries. 



An undesired and troublesome waste from fuel reprocessing is the 

 radioactive materials produced when uranium or plutonium atoms are 

 fissioned. The radioactivity of these wastes decreases slowly, and the 

 wastes remain dangerous for centuries. While proponents of nuclear 

 power assert that these wastes can be made inert and be safely stored 

 for many years, some critics fear their ultimate release to the environ- 

 ment with disastrous results. After some 25 years of research and 

 development for nuclear power, the United States has yet to demon- 

 strate on a working scale the technology for the indefinite storage of 

 these wastes. 



At present, only a few industrialized countries now have the indus- 

 trial capabilities to supply all the special materials, products, and 

 services for commercial nuclear power. But many countries are plan- 

 ning to build their own fuel fabricating and fuel reprocessing plants 

 to service their nuclear power plants. The International Atomic En- 

 ergy Agency expects that by the late 1970 's several additional countries 

 will possess the industrial base necessary for nuclear power. At pres- 

 ent these countries are limited to Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the 

 United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany, and the Soviet 

 Union. But of these only the United States and the Soviet Union have 

 a large-scale capability to produce enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. 

 The Japanese are exploring with the United States and France the 

 possibilities of some form of joint international enrichment project, 

 while the French also have been seeking partners to build an inter- 

 national enrichment facility in Europe. 



The Nuclear Fuel Cycle 



From the preceding notes on vital aspects of nuclear energy, it is 

 apparent that the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, 

 in contrast to conventional hydro or steam electric power plants that 

 burn oil, coal, or natural gas, is only one step in a long and complex 

 sequence of technological activities that are necessary for the genera- 



